With a full week of baseball left in the 2009 season, the current edition of the Milwaukee Brewers have already allowed almost 100 runs more than the playoff-bound 2008 edition. While a large amount of that difference can be chalked up to losing CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, a more abstract difference for this Milwaukee team is the absence of well-regarded pitching coach Mike Maddux, who left Milwaukee for Texas after last season.
Joe Torre's new book has done what few baseball books have done: It's gotten people to talk baseball during Super Bowl week. That's no small feat considering how much hype the big game gets. It seems, though, that the Yankees want to discourage people from talking about baseball, or at least the kind of baseball where Kevin Brown is curled up in the corner threatening to quit.
The Yankees are considering a non-disparagement clause, which in essence is a "book clause". You might as well call it censorship.
Our MLB editor files dispatches from the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in Notes From Sin City.
This city was built on the potential of winning big, and the reality of losing in the same manner, so its fitting to take a look at who won and lost this week at the Bellagio Hotel.
Winners
New York Baseball Fans: Let's see, the Yankees added the best pitcher on the market, and just maybe the best pitcher on the planet, in CC Sabathia and they aren't done yet. A.J. Burnett could be added to the rotation by the end of the week and they'll add another hurler before the end of the winter. Suddenly it looks like they're right there with the Rays and the Red Sox.
Omar Minaya was, by far, the most visible GM in Las Vegas, and that's because he made major upgrades to the Mets' wretched bullpen, signing Francisco Rodriguez and trading for J.J. Putz and Sean Green. The Mets biggest weakness coming into Las Vegas now appears to be a strength.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.
It's hard to think of a team that's been on more of a rollercoaster than the Milwaukee Brewers have the past five months. In June, they acquired CC Sabathia and started steamrolling towards what looked like a certain playoff berth. In September, they collapsed and nearly lost what looked like a sure wild-card berth. Then they fired Ned Yost and slid into the playoffs anyways. In October, they were knocked out by the eventual world champion Phillies. Now they've hired Ken Macha and Willie Randolph, but CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets have filed for free agency.
Of course, the important thing for the Brewers and their fans to remember is that they're going to be in good shape next year, even without Sheets and Sabathia. They've still got a great offense, they've still got Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra, and hey, Eric Gagne's gone! They're going to be a different team next year, yes. But that doesn't mean they're going to be worse.
It was reported in the middle of the night during a West Coast road trip that former New York Mets head coach Willie Randolph will join former New York Mets coaching instructor/electronics salesman/candle salesman Tom Nieto in the wonderful world of gainful baseball employment. He has been named "bench coach" for the Milwaukee Brewers under new manager Ken Macha. As a lifelong follower of the American League whose only working knowledge of the Mets is Faith and Fear in Flushing, two questions spraing to mind:
1. Why did Willie Randolph settle for bench coach when he probably (probably) could've gotten a better coaching job elsewhere, and 2. Does Getty Images have a hatless picture of Willie Randolph?
The answers are simple. I don't know, and yes! Tonight's Dugout is after the jump.
This kind of seems like a weird move, because it's almost certainly made by Melvin, even though the bench coach is usually picked by the manager. Randolph was one of the other finalists for the Brewers job before it went to Macha. Apparenly Melvin liked Randolph's interview and Willie decided that he'd rather be a bench coach again than go somewhere like Seattle, so here we are.
I thought for a few minutes that having three managers on your coaching staff was weird, but then I remembered the ex-Pittsburgh Pirate manager reunion in Detroit where Gene Lamont and Lloyd McClendon have worked with Jim Leyland the past few years. The theme of Melvin's hiring process has been "experience" and though Randolph and Sveum weren't managers for that long, he's certainly packing as much experience as he can into this coaching staff.
Back at the end of May when we were all waiting for Willie Randolph to get the axe from the New York Mets, former Mets catcher Gary Carter decided to take action. While we all sat on our butts, Gary got out there and went on the radio to let us all know he'd totally take the job after the Mets fired Randolph. He caught a bit of heat for it.
I mean, campaigning for a job while somebody else still holds the position just doesn't happen here in the United States, but maybe it should because it seems to work. Barack Obama did it, and now he'll be the next President of the United States, and Gary is going to get that job managing in New York after all.
Carter, a Hall of Famer and former Met, will manage the minor league Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
Carter's previous managerial experience includes two successful minor league seasons in the Mets' organization. He was manager of the year in the Gulf Coast League and the Florida State League in 2005 and 2006, and won the Florida State League title in '06.
Okay, so it's not the New York gig he had been hoping for, but it's in the perfect spot for Gary. Since he'll be working on Long Island, he's always only a cab ride away from the Mets front office should the team hit a four game slide next April and he needs to make another pitch.
It's believed that the Milwaukee Brewers have their managerial search down to three candidates: Ken Macha, Bob Brenly, and Willie Randolph. As to when the Brewers will make their decision, nobody's quite sure, but it probably won't be announced until after the World Series is completed.
Of course Willie Randolph has other offers available to him besides the Brewers job. Both the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals have offered Willie a job as bench coach, but it's looking like Randolph has his sights set on the Brewers gig. According to a report out of New York, he's already told the Nationals he's not interested.
Willie Randolph turned down an opportunity to join the Washington Nationals' coaching staff, and if he doesn't get the Brewers' managing job, he'll probably sit out the 2009 season, a person familiar with the situation said.
Randolph, fired as Mets manager June 17, spoke with the Nationals about serving as either bench coach or third-base coach under manager Manny Acta, but he ultimately decided against working under Acta. The two men had a tenuous relationship in 2005 and 2006, when Acta worked as Randolph's third-base coach, because of Acta's strong alliance with Mets general manager Omar Minaya and vice president of player development Tony Bernazard.
It's also reported in the same article that Ken Macha is the front-runner to land the Brewers job, so unless something changes, it looks like Willie will be sitting out the 2009 season.
Though the Mets became the first team in major league history to fail to make the playoffs despite holding a 3 1/2-game lead in the standings in September, they appear to have no problem with the people running the team.
A formal announcement is expected by GM Omar Minaya no later than Tuesday. "Jerry did a very good job in a tough situation, overcoming injuries to [John] Maine and Billy [Wagner]," Minaya said after today's 4-2 loss to the Marlins ended the Mets' season. "I just talked to Jerry and told him I will sit down with ownership tomorrow and give my recommendation. But I was very pleased with the job he did." Owner Fred Wilpon also strongly endorsed Manuel while talking with reporters during today's game.
Minaya might not have deserved his extension, especially when you look through the prism of back-to-back September swoons, but it's hard to say the same for Manuel. He guided the Mets to a 55-38 record down the stretch after taking over for Willie Randolph in mid-June. Considering the hand he was dealt -- a very, very bad bullpen -- Manuel performed admirably as skipper
Indeed, had Billy Wagner not gotten injured, this would probably all be a moot point, and New York might be celebrating an NL East title. Here's to a few more years of Manuel describing Johan Santana as "gangsta" and threatening to "cut"Jose Reyes.
With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October. Reyes Rises to Occasion: Life isn't easy for baseball players in New York. Just ask Jose Reyes. The shortstop has taken more blame than anyone this side of Willie Randolph and his teammates in the bullpen for the Mets' collapse last season.
Some of the criticism has been fair. Reyes hit .205 last September and his mental lapses always seem to occur at the worst time. But much of it hasn't been fair. He's been slammed for being unprofessional, for being carefree -- his elaborate handshakes and big smile the sign of someone who didn't care enough to stop New York's free-fall.
The truth? Reyes is a terrific player who went cold at the wrong time last year, but the Mets wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without him in the lineup. Tuesday night's win over the Cubs must have felt especially good to Reyes. His bases-clearing triple gave the Mets a bullpen-proof lead.
Johan Santana was the hero, but Reyes got the big hit. He ensured that the Mets would get a reprieve from all the collapse talk, kept them atop the wild-card race and helped them pick up a game on the Phillies. Has Reyes been vindicated? Not yet. But if the Mets do grab a playoff berth, Reyes' bases-clearing triple will be a big part of it.
With a full week of baseball left in the 2009 season, the current edition of the Milwaukee Brewers have already allowed almost 100 runs more than the playoff-bound 2008 edition. While a large amount of that difference can be chalked up to losing CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, a more abstract difference for this Milwaukee team is the absence of well-regarded pitching coach Mike Maddux, who left Milwaukee for Texas after last season. 
Our MLB editor files dispatches from the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in 
It was reported in the middle of the night during a West Coast road trip that former New York Mets head coach 
When the Brewers hired 
Back at the end of May when we were all waiting for 
It's believed that the Milwaukee Brewers have their managerial search down to three candidates: 
Though the Mets became the first team in major league history to fail to make the playoffs despite holding a 3 1/2-game lead in the standings in September, they appear to have no problem with the people running the team. 
With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in 
